Video Guide
Videos provide a unique instructional opportunity. The format conveys what text can’t, such as body language, tone of voice and other audio cues, and imagery. Videos can transport students to places outside the classroom, and they offer rich and engaging visuals and imagery. Students can literally hear from experts in the field, and can literally see the diversity of those experts. Finally, the video format provides an “in” to different learning styles and can make it easier for students to comprehend difficult or abstract concepts. For all these reasons, OER Project believes that video is a great way to communicate information.
Facilitating student learning through videos is quite common; however, guidance regarding best practices for teaching with video has been lacking. When used purposefully and actively, videos can be a powerful tool in the classroom. They provide visual interest, can enhance student engagement by moving beyond the text, and provide students with an opportunity to hear a voice other than their teacher’s. Note: Videos are not intended to replace instruction in any way; rather, they are a resource that should be used interactively.
OER Project believes that to use video in an instructionally sound way, you must follow a few key steps:
- Set the Context: Ensure students know why they are watching the video, and always orient them to what you want them to focus on while they watch. Doing this before they watch will help students create meaning from what they watch. In addition, make sure students know who the personalities in the video are. This is a great opportunity to practice claim testing: is this person an authority on the subject? Does the information presented support, extend, or challenge what they have learned? What do we know about this person?
- Require Active Viewing: Students should interact with video in much the same way they interact with text—this should be an active process in which they critically engage with the material. Provide a note taking strategy, graphic organizer, or have them answer the questions created by OER Project while they watch. It’s important to scaffold this experience for students. Providing them with something to do while watching helps them to activate their thinking and make connections to prior knowledge.
- Check for Understanding: During the video, you might pause to help students respond to the Guiding Questions, or stop at other key points to make sure students are understanding what they’re watching. Once students are done viewing the video, allow them a moment to gather their notes and discuss with a peer what they saw. Providing a short debrief period before you ask questions of the larger class allows students to internalize what they just watched. Then, when you follow up with debrief questions, students are ready to provide answers and dig deeper into the content they’ve shared.
Video Scaffolds
All OER Project courses include videos as part of their content mix, and all course videos include features that help ensure your students’ learning is well scaffolded.
Guiding Questions: We have developed Guiding Questions for each video, intended to help students identify key concepts. You can find sample answers to these questions in the Lesson Guide. By clicking the title of any video, you’ll see timestamps for sections that correspond to each Guiding Question. Clicking the timestamps will jump you to that section of the video. If you want students to use this feature independently, we recommend you show them how to use this tool.
Captions: Another way to help students engage with videos is to use the closed captions feature (this is also helpful if your audio setup isn’t great!). Simply click the CC box in the right-hand corner of the video player. Note: We offer Spanish captions for most videos in Big History and World History (see next page for additional translation options).